[Zhongyingmei] How difficult is it to become a reliable adult

"Mr. and Ms. Gleason are just so enthusiastic, they're impatient and can't wait to see you."

Ms. Jones reassures April, who is slumped in her office chair, "I'm not saying it's right for them to do this, but they mean no harm."

It would be unwise to argue against Ms. Jones now, Aprile puffed up.

After a while, she said pitifully again, her blue eyes fixed on Ms. Jones watery, "Can I not meet them?"

"Don't be selfish, Ella."

Ms. Jones is one of the few people who doesn't like April's coquettish offensive at all. Any grown-up would think that April is better off under the care of a couple who like her.

"Actually, they plan to come to the orphanage to see you today." Ms. Jones slowed down her voice.

She walked around, rubbed the top of Ai Puli's head, and said softly, "I know you can't accept a pair of strangers as your parents for a while, but you have to learn to look forward."

She squatted down and looked at Aprili who was sitting in the office chair, "Can you tell me why you resist them so much?"

Aprile rolled her eyes and finally buried her head in her chest reluctantly, "I don't like them."

What she really wanted to say was that she felt no kindness in these two men.

But adults can't understand Aprily, and the Gleasons are, as Ms. Jones puts it, "in a hurry."

Ms. Jones smiled knowingly, "You don't know them yet, go and try them out, maybe you will get along well later on."

If you refuse again, it will cause the displeasure of adults.Aprily stopped talking and let Ms. Jones take her by the hand and lead her to the gate of the orphanage.

The Gleasons stood in front of a gray Buick, smiling amiably.Aprily raised her eyes quietly, meeting Mrs. Gleason's gaze.

A short look at each other that was normal enough made her feel timid from the bottom of her heart.

The feeling was indescribable, as if standing in front of her were not two people, but two mannequins filled with paint and industrial waste.

Aprily grabbed Ms. Jones's sleeve, "Aren't we going to chat in the lobby?"

Ms Jones could not understand her fear.

She patiently let go of Aprily's hand little by little, "Did you forget, you still have to go to school, it's really helpful that the Gleasons are willing to send you to school."

Ai Puli grasped the air at a loss with her loosened hand, and turned to grab the shoulder strap of her schoolbag, "I can take the school bus to school, don't bother them."

"The school bus at Westside School broke down, and we can't pick up students today. We received a notice last night," Ms. Jones explained, "We originally planned to drive you to school today."

Aprily raised her head sharply, staring at the smiling Gleasons with wide eyes.

She seemed to have a premonition of something bad, and she quickly lowered her head as soon as she met the eyes of the two.

"I'll be with you, don't worry." Ms. Jones put her hand on Aprily's shoulder.

She smiled at the Gleasons. "Appley's a good kid, she's just a little nervous."

It's not that Ai Puli doesn't understand the politeness between adults, she is not in the mood to be a lovable and obedient child right now.

Ms. Jones got into the Gleasons' car with her and sat in the passenger seat.

The vehicle drove away from the orphanage smoothly, and it was no longer a place to shelter Ai Puli.

Maybe there is no place in this world that can protect her.

The adults chatted in the car, driving away the awkward silence.Ai Puli looked out the window, as if in a daze, but was actually eavesdropping on their conversation.

She heard them talk about the accident yesterday, when the school bus exploded on the way back, but fortunately all the students got home safely, only the driver was lying in the intensive care unit.

The young girl's palms were covered with sweat, and she almost trembled in the small compartment.

She quickly restrained herself.In terms of self-control, she is very different from her peers.

Ai Puli deliberately avoided looking from the rearview mirror, pretending that her attention was all outside the window.

She didn't know what to do, how was she going to explain her uneasiness to Ms Jones?

Just because she feels they are not good people?

What evidence did she have that the Gleasons were not quick-tempered and well-intentioned?

Who would set up a plot for a little girl in an orphanage?

She wrung her hands, forcing herself not to look at the eyes and expressions of the couple.

A blue shadow flashed past in front of the vehicle, and Aprily sat upright abruptly, with most of her face pressed against the window.

In fact, even Ai Puli didn't understand her reaction at the first time, and the memory came to her mind with hindsight.

She has seen that back.

In the dream, I have seen it several times.That back belongs to her father.

She forgot about her situation for a short time and stuck to the car window.Mr. Gleason was driving so fast that April only had time to see another figure of Dad's back in the alley.

Raising a fist against a crowd of wailing people is unmistakably a fight.

One-to-many, full of martial arts.

"Ella?"

A voice pulled Ai Puli out of her mind, and she turned her head in a daze. The person who called her by her nickname was not Ms. Jones, the dean of the orphanage, but Mrs. Gleason, who had been sitting in the passenger seat and observing her. .

"What's the matter with you, Ella?" Mrs. Gleason said, laughing, adding another child lock to the locked window.

Ai Puli blinked slowly, and sat back quietly after a while.

"I just saw people fighting." She replied obediently.

"It's okay, don't pay attention to those little bastards," Mrs. Gleason said contemptuously, "When you see them on the road, remember to stay away."

Ai Puli endured it, and couldn't hold back to justify a few words, "Maybe something happened."

"Ella, you're a good boy." Mrs. Gleason's eyes slanted over.

Ai Puli was sitting directly behind her. She talked to Ai Puli without turning her body, but just clicked her neck to the side, with a completely unchanged gentle smile on her face.

Mrs. Gleason said slowly, "A good boy shouldn't be distracted by gangsters, you are easily hurt."

While they were talking, the Buick moved far away from the alley, leaving behind what Mrs. Grissom called the "bugger".

Ai Puli lowered her eyes and whispered, "I understand."

During this trip to school, Ai Puli was restless all the time.Even sitting next to Ms. Jones did not give her a sense of security.

Everyone has their own way of dealing with bad emotions, and Aprile's way is to hide the bad stuff and pretend that she never encountered it.

That doesn't mean she doesn't intend to fix the problem.

The Buick stopped at the gate of Xicheng School, and Aprile couldn't wait to jump out of the car with her backpack.She did not forget to say a perfunctory "thank you" and "goodbye" to the Gleasons.

The window rolled down, revealing Mrs. Gleason's face.

She smiled. "We'll pick you up after school, Ella."

Ai Puli looked up at her, her expression unchanged, "The school bus will be out of service for a long time, and we will help take you to and from school."

Ai Puli pursed her lips, turned and ran towards the school.

She didn't have any familiar friends at Xicheng School... Yes, she didn't have any familiar friends, but she did have people she knew.

As it happens, the two people she knows are very powerful.

Ai Puli didn't ask about the ages of Jonathan and Damian yesterday. Jonathan may be a very inconspicuous type in school, but Damian is not.

It's easy to find out about Damian in school. Occasionally, during recess, April could hear the students sitting next to him discussing this young master of Wayne.

Damian's performance is too outstanding among a group of ordinary boys and girls, it is difficult not to be discussed.

Whether it is the helipad on the top floor of Xicheng School, the great admiration of teachers in various subjects, or a sketch of Damian in art class, these are all part of the conversation in campus life.

April easily got Damian's schedule.It didn't take her much effort, as long as she pretended to be surprised and added to the topic, someone would come over and give her Kopdamian's outrageous words and deeds.

April is the lowest grade. Her classes are easy and she has more time before school.

Damian's class is a physical education class. He can always easily complete the physical education teacher's target, and hide somewhere for a while after getting the teacher's permission.

April also knew from other students that Jonathan would be playing on the football field on the other side, and she guessed that Damian might be there.

He seems to have only one friend in this school, Jonathan. When he is bored, consciously or unconsciously, he always wants to find friends to pass the time.

Ai Puli trotted all the way to the football field. A group of students were running on the field. She looked around and soon saw a familiar head inside.

The line of sight shifted, and there was a student wearing a school uniform sitting on the top of the stand next to him.

Ai Puli ran to his side, hesitated, and chose a seat several meters away from him to sit down.

This location should not be so obtrusive.

Damian narrowed his green eyes, "They sent you to school?"

Ai Puli didn't speak, only heard a loud "tsk" on the tip of the boy's tongue.

"They said they'd pick me up after school," April said. "Can you tell Jonathan...to contact Superboy?"

Damian tilted his head slightly, his eyes were very focused when he was looking at people, and his head was unconsciously tilted slightly in another direction, making a listening movement, closer to a beast hunting its prey than a boy.

Aprile couldn't tell if his mood was good or bad.She just rubbed her eyes that were dry and dry from being wide open for a long time.

Damian smiled, and the smile was sure to win, "You go back."

Ai Puli understood that this meant they would help.

"Thank you." She rummaged through her pockets and found the two candies she brought from the orphanage. They were small snacks given by the nuns after she went back last night.

She pushed two candies beside Damian, "This is the reward, one for each person."

The girl jumped up and down, and slid away like a bunny.

Damian raised his eyebrows and didn't reach for the candy.

There were footsteps beside him, and Jonathan, who was pretending to be out of breath, sat down next to him, "What did you talk about, is there something wrong?"

He was kicked, and took out two candies from under his buttocks, "Is this from Ai Puli?"

"Never mind that, Joe." Damian stood up. "We've got work to do."

Jonathan peeled off a candy and threw it into his mouth, "We rescued the school bus driver last night, will they still act today?"

Pushing the candy back and forth under his tongue, Jonathan muttered, "I don't even know how you got your eye on them."

"Because I have information that you don't know."

"Intel is shared between partners," Jonathan said.

Damian stopped and looked at Jonathan with his arms folded.

Grinding his teeth, he said the following, "You followed me last night?"

"It can't be my fault!" Jonathan shrank his neck. "After I sent the school bus driver to the hospital, I originally wanted to find you right away, but your brother is there, and I will definitely show up when I appear."

He defended himself in a low voice, "Don't you want your brother to know?"

Damian has several older brothers, and the one he usually refers to as "brother" in his heart is the first-generation Robin Nightwing.He gave Jonathan a lollipop.

Ye Yi came to Metropolis because of investigating a certain case, and stopped by to visit his younger brother who was going to school and patrolling here.The patrols of the extraordinary twins are divided into two parts, in Metropolis in the afternoon and in Gotham at night.

Jonathan didn't understand why Damian deliberately concealed the case he was investigating from Night Wing. The family atmosphere of their family was very different from that of Wayne's.

"The bats investigate the case independently, this is my case," Damian frowned, "We can solve it."

"It's more than that." Jonathan gestured, "Then you should say that this is your case and no one else needs to intervene."

Damian sometimes resents Jonathan's intuition.The tacit understanding between the bloody partners.

He deliberated for a moment, and decided to prevent Jonathan from doing bad things because of insufficient intelligence. A leader needs to learn to give in.

"Do you know what Gleason means?"

Jonathan snapped his fingers, "Greenson, Gerry's son, Green..." He paused, "Green son."

Coincidentally, there is a person with the same name next to them.

Grayson, Grayson, the gray son of Gotham.